Why does flipping the second fraction around and then multiplying work when dividing two fractions?

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Eg. 8 over 3 divided by 1 over 3 = 8 over 3 times 3 over 1

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6 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

khalamar’s answer is correct and probably the simplest one so far.
But we can do even simpler, in the same spirit.

Start with a fraction:

> (a / b) / (c / d)

Multiply both sides of the fraction by (d), you get:

> (d * a / b) / ( c )

Multiply both sides again by (b) , you get:

> (d * a) / (c * b)

Notice that this is equivalent to the flip you were mentioning.

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